Components made of different lightweight materials, such as aluminum, magnesium, and composites are used to produce fuel efficient vehicles. Components made of lightweight materials may be cast or extruded at an automotive facility. Components made of lightweight materials may be required to be shipped to a secondary facility for surface pretreatment to improve adhesion of adhesives, coatings and paint.
Surface pretreatment may be a complex multi-step process that includes acid cleaning the component, applying a conditioning agent to the component, applying conversion coating that inhibits corrosion and increases adhesion and durability of paints and finishes. Additional post-forming treatments may be performed to further increase paint adhesion and corrosion resistance. The components may have complex shapes that make it difficult for the surface pretreatment process to uniformly pretreat the whole structure.
The components made of lightweight materials may be delivered to a vehicle assembly facility for the joining operations after undergoing surface pretreatment. The components may be joined together by welding or by self-piercing rivets. Adhesives may be applied to the pretreated components to improve the strength of connections between the components made of lightweight materials and other parts. Surface treatment processes described above increase manufacturing costs, are time-consuming, and the process may require the use of multiple facilities.
The above problems and other problems are addressed by this disclosure as summarized below.